Stonehell: Small Men, Slime, and Flowers

Session 40 was played on 6/20

Eiric, wizard 5 (Kat)
- torch bearers (Kali)
- men at arms (B, C, D, PP)
- Namish (dog)
A-A-Ron, Thief 5 (Henchman)
Orpheus, Human Fighter 5 (Yann)
Matthias, Dwarf 5 (Julia)
- men at arms ( Nnnn, QQ, Kiln.)
- Herrick (dog)
Borumar Half Orc Fighter 4 (Josh)
Poppet, Elf 1 (Nicole)
Daryll (NPC Cleric 5)

Both Eiric and Matthias have relatively staid parties in town, gather everyone up, and head back into the dungeon. A group of the Ghost Beggars nod warrily at them in the Antechamber, but no one seems interested in engaging in either talk or combat.

Heading down into the formerly Contested Corridors, and toward the Korners, they’re set upon by a swarm of Stirges. The combat was notable only for Nnnn stabbing himself, fainting at the sight of his own blood, and Darryl having to heal him. The make it to the Korners, drop off the beer, and head back to town.

Returning the next day, they make for the quadrant Without Doors. The first new chamber they explore is full of pig iron, rotted coils of rope, and an old carpet covering most of the floor. Matthias’ keen dwarven senses pick up on the fact that there’s a pit trap under the carpet right about the time he falls into it. In a fall that would kill nearly anyone, he somehow survives. At the bottom of the shaft, Matthias finds himself in a hallway, humid and full of the smells of plant growth. The corridor is lit by some unseen source, and there’s vines and flowers bushes and all sorts of growth everywhere. Across from where he landed is a door. He yells this up the shaft, and Eiric tells him to leave it alone, and to grab the rope they’re dropping for him. He does grab the rope, but then forces open the door revealing what was at one point a store room. It has been taken over by the plants as well. He grabs a while bell shaped flower as big as his head at about the same time a rope is pulled up.

Matthias spends the whole time he’s being hauled up sniffing the flower. He weaves it into his beard after showing everyone what he found.

Circling back around toward the main hall, they come upon a bat colony, complete with several giant bats! The party’s archers attack, causing the whole colony to swarm! In the confusion Namish attacks Eiric, C attacks B, Cali attacks A-A-Ron, while most of the rest of the party just ducks down to avoid the chaos. The big bats are eventually killed, while the rest of the colony flies off to the main chamber.

After cleaning all the guano off of themselves, they press on, and come to a room where 4 small naked pale men (very much not halflings) are painting swirls in lurid neon colors on the floor and walls. The ceiling has a bunch of iron spikes nailed in, set in a figure 8.

Matthias offers them beer, which they think is gross. Everyone else just shrugs, as they don’t seem interested in talking. Mostly they just watch with their large pale eyes.

Moving down the hall, they come to a room with white circles painted on the floor, and in each, a macabre scene of 6 dead rats with their tails tied together. Matthias uses his 10’ pole to poke at the rats. The small men, who’d been creeping in behind rush past the party to fix the layout of the rats. They then glare at the party silently. Walking around the circles, the party moves on, trying not to piss off the small men.

The next chamber, south of the great hall, is moldy, wet, and the 7 skeletons clinging to each other in the far corner is worrying. Predictably, Matthias pokes it with his stick. They fall apart.

The next chamber contains an odd statue, a headless woman pierced by a score of arrows. The ceiling drips, and the floor is cracked. Thankfully they notice the green slime above the door before it can drop on anyone. It slowly chases them past the skeletons and back toward the main hall. Seeing as it’s much slower than the party, they regroup, and light it up with Power Thirst. It creates the most god awful smell, and fills the area with rank black smoke. While it burns the party explores way from the smoke.

A giant rusty weather-vane stands on a low platform, pointing north. After a thorough investigation the party finds the platform moves. With everyone working together they shift it, and reveal a shallow pit with silver trade bars, gold coins, and some jewelry.

After retrieving the treasure they press on into a new hallway, when a mighty gust of wind blows out their torches, and knocks down half the party. Eiric’s amulet of hope lights up, and the party picks themselves up, relights their torches, and looks for danger. Finding no imminent attack, they press on.

A 3 eyed symbol looks out at them from behind an altar. Upon the altar are 3 scrolls. Eiric reaches for them, and is blasted by the eyes, blowing apart into gas. Borumar seeing the party leadership open up (and the map destroyed) goes for the scrolls. He dodges the eyes’ beam and runs from the room.

Leadership doesn’t go to well for him as at the next doorway he takes a berserker ax to the face. Realizing who they just attacked, they offer drink and rest. The party accepts, and about 30 minutes later Eiric reappears, telling them how she was turned into gas, but could still see and hear everything. Borumar’s face still hurts.

Gains: 7 silver trade bars, 200 gp, 3 pieces of jewelry
Kills: 3 Giant Bats, Green Slime, Stirges,
Losses: Eiric (almost)